Collapsible receptacle



June 26, 1945. c. A. VAN WAGNER ET AL 2,379,202

GOLLAPS IBLE RECEPTACLE Filed Feb. 17, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet l lnventors dries/2 ya )iylzer M Clyde l1 flu/rem:

Cittomeg June 26, 1945. V c. A. VAN WAGNER ET AL 2,379,292

COLLAPSIBLE RECEPTACLE Filed Feb. 17, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 59- 4 8" MJ LM (Iftoirneg Bnventors c. A. VAN WAGNER ET AL 2,379,202

COLLAPS IBLE RECEPTACLE June 26, 1945.

5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 17, 1944 attorney Patented June 26, 1945 UNITED STATES COLLAPSIBLE' RECEPTA'CLE' Charles A. Van Wagner, Winston-salad, and a Clyde Ml Andrews, Greensboro, N. 0. Application February 1'7, 1944,: SerialNo' 522,688

' 1 clai (o1. ni 12 I .t I

This invention relates to ashipping box, crate; coop, 'or container, and the like which is of. a col lapsible nature, and whioh 'cajn' be erected and packed. full of gOOdS and then can be seoured against opening during shipment, and when the oracle, box, container, and the like reaches its destination, it can be opened and emptied; and the walls, top and bottom can be collapsed to occupy a very small space, so that the collapsed shipping container can be returned to the shipper, occupying a very small amount of space in the return shipment. p

It is an object-of this invention to provide a collapsible shipping box having a bottom, top, and four side walls with the contacting portions between all portions of the box having tongue and groove'connections whereby when the box is in assembled position and secured against opening, and the lid is secured against movement, the box will be held in rigid closed position, so as tobe used as a shipping box and when it is emptied, the parts can be stacked one upon theo'ther and bound together by any suitable means such as an iron strap passing around the same, and shipped back to destination, or in one form of th inven-:

tion where the portions are'shown hingedly con nected together, it can b folded into a compact position whereby the crates can be packed in a car or truck and returned tothe shipper, without binding the parts together.

It is another-object of this inventionto provide a collapsible box or crate or shipping case having a bottom with a'tongue disposed along and in close proximity to the ends and sides-of the bottom member and having end walls and side walls provided with grooves in their upper and lower edges and having a lid portion having tongues disposed along its side and endedges; the

tongues on the bottom and lid portions bein adapted to fit into the grooves in the lower and upper edges of the side and end Walls so that when the end and side walls are moved tora'ised posi= tion, and the lid is placed in position on the top edges of the end and side walls, all portions of the box will be supported by each other, and when the" lid is confined in position, a sturdy shipping box will be provided which will stand all stresses and strains from the inside and the outside, and which when it is emptied, is adapted tobe colover and over again.

some of the jects or theinvention havin lapsed and shipped back to the'shipper for uset5 represents-the bottom ofposition and-looking at thejiritnor surracesof theme -crate; gp

Fig ur 4; is a vert ca sectional view taken t ansversely through the'box or crate as shown in -:Figure 2;-- i

Figure f5 -is' ahorizontal sectional view taken throughthe box' or crat''asshow n Fig-ui e 2; Figure-6 1s an-nlafgedfltail view-or one cortier of the box or crate, such as the upper righthandsome? of 4, h w d 10m ortongu andsroov'e;

Figure? is anew similar w ingv. another arrangement; r A I Figure-ll is atop plan view of theb'ox or crate withthetopremoved; j I

Figure '9 is an isometric I view f th box" or crate-similar to Figure-' 1 but without -any hinges and having a strap ironfmernber secured therearound for holding'the lid in closed position;

Figure 10 is an end view of the box or crate of the type shown Figures 1 8 in collapser llbosition and ready for r esl-iipnie n Referring more' specific o the drawings, A and C r present the two sides; D tr io or f dg and F the end positions; All of'thes'e parts of the box comprise a suitable f work-and over the interior surface of th'etop an M position material; indicated by reference char actor 11;" Il-i'i=I-*side's-13 and C havethe sheets ll secured over-thei'nterior surfaces of' the same; and the er id portions E and h'aveisheets H The *botsom an topportionsAand D na e-along each side thereof l6 and along the end portionsthere'of tongues l8: and ill; The side por tions B andhave along theends thereof grooves Inland; l jaiidals o "have grooves 22- and 23 along thebottorrr and top edges. The nd portions;

"straps 36' which may liemade of canvas belting,

specti've' portions ofth'e' box as at 3i by'any suit could be 'suitable screws if desired:

' Th end portions E and l have 28' on their inside surfaces adjacent each side thereof-adapted: to fit" into groovesjll in one end able means such as tacks or nails,although they For" holding thfebof ,w 1; theisid'es wausaiid end walls in erected or vertical position while filling the box or crate full of goods and before the lid portion is placed thereon, suitable clamps 35 having inturned ends 36 may be secured as V red, but show- 4 modified form ortong ue n groove to r. r a .i ,d-b iom ss'e' cured a sheet member s'ucira's ply oo -0 cor roman" a d he other ends" of the side and end walls by means of passing.

therearound a strap 40 such as a steel strap as used in baling cloth, cotton, and the like,,and a suitable metal portion ll may be crimped therearound. to hold the strap 40 in a taut" position around the box.

Instead of having the rounded or convex tongues and the concave grooves made on the arc of a circle as shown in Figure 4, for example, the tongues may be made in other shapes, such as in Figure 6 where the tongue li is shown of angular formation, and the groove 23a is shown of like concave formation to receive the tongue [6a or, if desired, the tongue lib can be formed as shown in Figure 7 with its conforming groove 23b provided for receiving the tongue l6b.

In assembling the box, crate, receptacle, or the like, the side walls B and C are raised upwardly and inwardly from the position shown in Figure 3, and the grooves 22 fit down over the tongues i6 and I1. Then the end walls areraised upwardly and inwardly on their hinges, if hinges.

are provided, and the tongues 21 and 28 are fitted into the grooves 20 and 2| in the ends of the side walls B and C and the tongues l8 and I9 fit into the grooves 26 in the bottom edge of end portions E and F. Then the lid portion is placed in position with the tongues l8 and I9 fitting into the grooves 25 on the top surfaces of the end portion, and the tongues I1 and i6 fit in the grooves 23 in the top surfaces of theside portions B and C. This causes all portions of the box to be firmly locked together as long as the lid D is held firmly in position, and this can be accomplished by any suitable means such as the strap 40 as shown in Figure 9. i I

It is not necessary to have the hinges 30 connecting the various portions of the box or receptacle together as shown in Figure 3. This is merely to keep the parts from becoming separated from each other, but if desired, these hinges can be dispensed with as shown in Figure 9 where the box can be assembled and held in position by the clamp members 35 while being filled with merchandise and then the lid portion D can be placed in position and the straps 40 passed around the entire box or crate and when the box or crate reaches its destination, the band 40 can be parted if desired, but if the merchandise con-. tained therein is of a nature which might not retain the shape in which it is packed,the clamp or braces 35 could be placed in position before the strap 40 is severed, and then when the box or crate is emptied, the sides, top, bottom, and end members can be packed flat one upon top of the other and bound together by any suitable means such as a strap member 40 for reshipment back to the shipper.

Figure 10 shows a convenient way of reshipping the collapsed container which has its portions hingedly connected together back to the shipper wherein the reference characters fully indicate how the box can be folded for reshipment. One convenient way of doing this is to invert the box from the position shown in Figure 3 with the hinges nearest the observer, and then move the end portions E and F over on top of the bottom portion A, and then fold the side portion B over the folded end portions, and then the top D can be folded backwardly over the other sidewall C and the container can very easily be shipped back to the shipper in this form by packing a number of the same in trucks or a boxcar for reshipment back to the sender.

Although we have shown the tongues l6, i1, 22, 23, 21, and 28 and the grooves 20, 2|, 25, and 26 formed integrally with the walls, top, and bottom, it is evident that plain surfaced top, bottom, and walls can be employed and strips of material having the desired tongue or groove formed therein can be suitably secured to the parts of the container instead of forming the tongues and grooves from the material of the walls, top, and bottom, and these strips having the tongues and grooves can be of any suitable material such as metal, wood, plastic, or any convenient and desired material.

Although we have shown the container as having a lid, it is evident that the lid can be dispensed with such as in bottle crates and the like which usually have no lid, and a suitable band can be passed around the end and side walls to confine the container in assembled position without employing a lid. Or, if desired, a band can be passed around the erected container in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 9,

but with the lid omitted, and this will hold the box, minus the lid, in erected position when it is used as a bottle crate, for example, where no lid is required.

In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claim.

We claim:

A collapsible container having a bottom, four walls, and a top, each of the walls and the bottom and top comprising a sheet member of flat material such as plywood and each sheet having relatively thick strips of material secured on the exterior of the sheets adjacent the four edges thereof and projecting outwardly beyond the edges .of the sheet member and joined to each other at their ends, the strips forming a part of the bottom having upwardly projecting tongues extending longitudinally of the strips, the top and bottom strips associated with each of the walls having longitudinally extending grooves therein, the side strips of opposed walls having tongues extending longitudinally of the inner surface thereof and the side strips of the other two walls having longitudinally extending grooves in their outer surfaces, the strips associated with the top member having longitudinally extending tongues on their lower surfaces, whereby when the container is assembled the grooves in the lower edges of the walls will fit over the tongues along the four edges of the bottom member and the tongues in a pair of opposed walls will fit into the grooves in the ends of the other two walls and the tongues on the top will fit into the grooves in the top edges of the four walls.

CHARLES A. VAN WAGNER. CLYDE M. ANDREWS. 

